11 killed in Volga tourist boat crash

ELEVEN people have been killed as two boats collided near a Russian city that is hosting the World Cup, emergency officials said.

The accident occurred late on Monday on the Volga river several hundred metres off the shoreline of the city of Volgograd, in southern Russia.

Vyacheslav Barkanov, a medical examiner investigating the case, said the captain of the paddleboat was drunk, the state news agency, Tass, reported.

According to a statement from regional emergency officials, a barge being pulled by a towboat collided with a paddleboat carrying 16 people on a sightseeing tour.

The statement said 11 people were killed and five were rescued. Authorities have started an investigation into the causes.